Device management using virtual interfaces

ABSTRACT

Methods managing data communication between a peripheral device and host computer system are provided. A physical interface for communicating data between a peripheral device and the plurality of applications executing on the host computer system is opened and controlled by a software module. A first virtual interface and a second virtual interface of the software module are exposed to an operating system of the host computer system, and the operating system exposes the first virtual interface and the second virtual interface to the first application and the second application. The first virtual interface is used for communicating data between the peripheral device and the first application through the physical interface, and the second virtual interface is used for communicating data between the peripheral device and the second application through the physical interface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/728,397 for Device Management Using Virtual Interfaces,filed Jun. 2, 2015 (and published Sep. 17, 2015 as U.S. PatentPublication No. 2015/0261719), now U.S. Pat. No. 9,298,667, which claimsthe benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/566,824 for DeviceManagement Using Virtual Interfaces, filed Dec. 11, 2014 (and publishedApr. 2, 2015 as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0095527),now U.S. Pat. No. 9,053,055, which claims the benefit of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/143,399 for Device Management Using VirtualInterfaces, filed Dec. 30, 2013 (and published Apr. 17, 2014 as U.S.Patent Publication No. 2014/0108682), now U.S. Pat. No. 8,918,564, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/267,342 forDevice Management Using Virtual Interfaces, filed Oct. 6, 2011 (andpublished Apr. 11, 2013 as U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2013/0091310), now U.S. Pat. No. 8,621,123. Each of the foregoing patentapplications, patent publications, and patents is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to data communication and more particularly tomanagement of data communication between a host computer system and aperipheral device in communication with the host computer system.

BACKGROUND

Many types of peripheral devices connect to a host computer system onwhich one or more applications execute. Those who manage deployment ofperipheral devices, for instance a business entity that ownspoint-of-sale systems comprising host computer systems attached tobarcode scanning peripheral devices, routinely face the need to managetheir deployed peripheral devices. Peripheral devices connect to hostcomputer system using a variety of wired and/or wireless communicationinterfaces. Some interface types, for instance those of the RS232interface standard, have a limitation where only one RS232 interface canbe exposed over the physical cable connection between the peripheraldevice and the host computer. This single interface is commonly owned bya Line of Business application on the host computer, which, in theexample involving a barcode scanner peripheral device, typicallyperforms data collection from the scanner. A problem arises when anotherutility or application on the host computer desires to manage thescanner over the existing interface. Such managing becomes challengingabsent interference with normal scanner operation and performanceexpected by the Line of Business application. For instance, the Line ofBusiness application would release the interface, freeing the interfaceso that another application, such as a management application, canassume exclusive use of the interface to communicate with the scanner,which can be impractical, problematic, and inefficient.

SUMMARY

The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantagesare provided through a method of managing data communication, whichmethod includes, for instance, opening and controlling, by a processor,a physical interface of a host computer system, the physical interfacefor communicating data between a peripheral device and a plurality ofapplications executing on the host computer system, the plurality ofapplications comprising a first application and a second application;exposing, in the host computer system, a first virtual interface and asecond virtual interface to an operating system of the host computersystem, wherein the operating system exposes the first virtual interfaceand the second virtual interface to the first application and the secondapplication, the first virtual interface for communicating data betweenthe peripheral device and the first application through the physicalinterface, and the second virtual interface for communicating databetween the peripheral device and the second application through thephysical interface; and managing data communication between theperipheral device and the first application, and between the peripheraldevice and the second application.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the concepts ofthe present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the inventionare described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimedinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features described herein can be better understood with reference tothe drawings described below. The drawings are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principlesof the invention. In the drawings, like numerals are used to indicatelike parts throughout the various views.

FIG. 1 depicts one example of a host computer system in communicationwith a peripheral device, in accordance with one or more aspects of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 depicts further details of a host computer system, in accordancewith one or more aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts one example of a process for managing data communication,in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts one example of managing data communication between aperipheral device and host applications, in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 depicts one embodiment of a computer program product toincorporate one or more aspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts one example of a host computer system in communicationwith a peripheral device, in accordance with one or more aspects of thepresent invention. In FIG. 1, peripheral device 100 communicates withhost computer system 110 across communications link 108. Communicationslink 108 can be any appropriate wired or wireless communication channelthat supports analog or digital communication of data between peripheraldevice 100 and host 110. A non-limiting list of example communicationlinks includes RS232 (such as a serial connection operating according tothe RS232 standard), Universal Serial Bus, Wi-Fi™ and Bluetooth™connections. In an embodiment where communications link 108 comprises aUniversal Serial Bus communications link, peripheral device 100 canpresent itself to host computer system 110 as a Universal Serial BusSerial device or a Universal Serial Bus Human Interface Device Barcodescanner.

By way of specific example, peripheral device 100 is an encodedinformation reading terminal comprising a processor 102 and one or moreencoded information reading device 104. Encoded information readingdevice 104 can be provided, e.g. by a bar code reading device, an RFIDreading device, and a card reading device. Encoded information readingdevice 104 can be operative to output one or more of a decoded messagedecoded from raw signal or a raw signal comprising an encoded message.Shown in the block view as being provided by a separate unit external toprocessor 102 processing functionality of encoded information device 104can be provided by processor 102. In operation of peripheral device 100,image signals can be read out of encoded information reading device 104and stored into a volatile or non-volatile memory (not pictured), suchas random access memory, read only memory, or any other type of storagememory. Processor 102 can be adapted to perform various algorithmsincluding reading out image data stored in memory and/or algorithmssupporting communication of data across communications link 108 via oneor more I/O component(s) 106.

Host 110 similarly includes I/O component(s) 112. I/O components includeone or more physical interfaces for communicating data to/fromperipheral device 100. These interfaces comprise one or more hardwarecomponents. In the example of an RS232 communications link, a supportingphysical interface comprises a hardware serial port, as an example.

Host 110 also includes processor 114 and memory 116. Memory 116 caninclude one or more volatile or non-volatile memories of one or moretypes, such as random access memory, read only memory, or any other typeof storage memory, such as a hard disk drive. Further details of host110 are described with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 depicts further details of a host computer system in accordancewith one or more aspects of the present invention. In FIG. 2, host 210includes physical interface 212, processor 214, and memory 216. As isunderstood by those having ordinary skill in the art, a processor can beconfigured to execute instructions of a program. Common such programsare an operating system and applications which run on the operatingsystem. In FIG. 2, processor 214 executes operating system 218 andapplications 220 a and 220 b. Application 220 a comprises a line ofbusiness application. A line of business (LOB), in general, is a groupof one or more related applications or modules which service a businessneed. In the context of host-peripheral device communication, a line ofbusiness application may be responsible for sending data to and/orreceiving data from a peripheral device. In the specific example of abarcode scanner, the line of business application can execute on thehost machine and accept from the peripheral device decoded data which isread-out from an encoded image (such as a barcode) using the peripheraldevice.

Application 220 b in FIG. 2 comprises a management application.Management application 220 b supports device management of a peripheraldevice, such as peripheral device 100 of FIG. 1. Examples of devicemanagement include performance of a firmware upgrade of the firmware ofthe peripheral device, and performance of a reconfiguration of theperipheral device, such as a reconfiguration to adjust one or moreoperating parameters of the peripheral device.

Aspects of the current invention define a software module for a hostcomputer. The software module opens and owns a physical interface, suchas an RS232 I/O port, to which a peripheral device is attached. It alsoexposes multiple virtual interfaces, such as virtual RS232 interfaces,to the operating system of the host.

The software module can manage data communication between the peripheraldevice and one or more applications executing on the host computersystem by properly routing data coming from the peripheral device to theone or more applications of the host, or data going from the one or moreapplications of the host to the peripheral device. This facilitatescommunication between a line of business application and the peripheraldevice without the line of business application being aware that thephysical interface is being shared with other applications, such as amanagement tool, behind the scenes.

Filtering program code 230 of FIG. 2 is an example software module.Filtering program code 230 opens and controls physical interface 212,which is a physical interface through which host 210 communicates with aperipheral device, such as a barcode scanner. Filtering program code 230exposes a first virtual interface 232 a and a second virtual interface232 b to operating system 218. While filter program code 230 exposes twovirtual interfaces in the example of FIG. 2, it should be understoodthat filtering program code 230 could expose any desirable number ofvirtual interfaces depending on the particular scenario, for instancethe number of applications on the host that will communicate with theperipheral device. By exposing virtual interfaces 232 a, 232 b tooperating system 218, operating system 218 can then make theseinterfaces available to applications executing on operating system 218.This allows each application to be configured to use a respective one ofthe virtual interfaces 232 a, 232 b to send and receive datacommunication. In FIG. 2, operating system 218 exposes virtualinterfaces 232 a, 232 b to line of business application 220 a andmanagement application 220 b. Then, line of business application 220 acan be configured (for instance, manually by a user or automatically) touse virtual interface 232 a for communicating data between theperipheral device and line of business application 220 a, whilemanagement application 220 b can be configured (for instance, manuallyby a user or automatically) to use virtual interface 232 b forcommunicating data between the peripheral device and managementapplication 220 b.

Filter program code 230 effectively allows performing device managementby management application 220 b in parallel with a data collectionprocesses whereby data is communicated to a separate line of businessapplication (e.g. 220 a ), without affecting the performance or expectedoperation for a user and line of business application 220 a. In afurther enhancement, filter program code 230 can also supportconfiguration requests to change its behavior (timeouts, filtering logicdescribed below). In this manner, the code can be reconfigured to, forinstance, make the filtering logic be based on a different pattern(s),or change a maximum timeout for the code to remain in a transaction modegiving the management application exclusive access to the device. Anexample of such a configuration request is a Windows Input/OutputControl (IOCTL) call/request, when filter program code 230 comprises aMicrosoft® Windows® based driver.

In one example, filter program code 230 comprises a device driver, suchas a filter driver for the Windows® operating system offered byMicrosoft Corporation. The software can be a driver such as a “driverservice” which is a kernel-level filter driver implemented as a Windows®service.

The driver installation can be made non-intrusive with no dialog promptsand no security warnings for the user. The actual driver can internallybe comprised of multiple drivers, depending on the operating systemrequirements. The driver can be written as a kernel-level driver for akernel of operating system 218, whereby the driver exposes the two ormore (depending on the number of applications to support) virtualinterfaces in the operating system. Additionally, an installation toolcan allow a user to preselect what the desired virtual interface (port)numbers should be.

Continuing with FIG. 2, filter program code 230 can use one or morefilter logic rules 234 defining filtering rules for filtering datareceived from a peripheral device to an appropriate application to whichthe data directed. Filter logic rules 234 are depicted as beingoptionally hard-coded into filter program code 230, or in a separatemodule in memory 216 external to filter program code 230. In the laterexample, filter logic rules 234 can comprise one or more scripts in atext file stored in memory 216. By maintaining externally loaded filterlogic rules, external to filter program code 230, the rules can beeasily updated without having to recompile the filter program code. Thisis especially useful in the case where filter program code comprises adriver, because of the security, stability, and compatibilitysensitivities involved in modifying device drivers of an operatingsystem. Alternatively or additionally, filter logic rules 234 can bemaintained within filtering program code 230, if so desired.

Filter logic rules can be in any format recognizable to the softwaremodule (e.g. filter program code) to enable it to properly filter datacommunications to the appropriate destination. In this respect, therules can describe one or more of:

-   -   The format of the incoming data from the peripheral device, and        more particularly the format of data intended for particular        application(s) (for instance data intended for only the line of        business application, for only the management application, or        for both the line or business application and the management        application) so that the software module can recognize and        route/filter this incoming data to the proper application(s)    -   How to handle custom events/procedures, such as (i) the        shielding of the virtual interface used by the line of business        application from a peripheral device reboot event, such as a        reboot event triggered by the management application,        and/or (ii) the freezing of some or all data communication        from/to the virtual interface used by the line of business        application while the management application performs a        reconfiguration or firmware upgrade of the peripheral device        (i.e.: freeze timeout for a “transaction mode”). In this regard,        when the management application communicates with the peripheral        device, this may cause the line of business application to        detect configuration changes or events, and this may be        undesirable. To prevent this, in the former scenario        (shielding), the software module can “shield” the line of        business application from a peripheral device reboot event so        that the application's connection handle, which is owned by the        line of business application and represents the communication        path to the virtual interface exposed to the line of business        application by the software module, is preserved. This        effectively prevents, by the software module, the reboot event        (in the form of data communication received from the peripheral        device to the host) from permeating through to the line of        business application. In the later scenario (freezing for        transaction mode), data received from/to the virtual interface        used by the line of business application while that interface is        frozen may be queued until the freeze timeout expires. The idea        is that if the management application requests operation in a        transaction mode, it will have exclusive access to the device,        until it has completed the tasks it needs. It can be seen as an        atomic operation, where the management application temporarily        overtakes the peripheral device from the line of business        application to perform some task(s). When done, access to the        device is restored to the line of business application, all        while keeping the line of business application unaware of the        interruption.    -   How to handle simultaneous virtual interface requests, such as        simultaneous requests to the virtual interfaces made by the line        of business application and the management application. The        filter logic rules can indicate which virtual interface receives        data communication routing preference and how that preference is        carried out by the software module so as to not affect        performance of the line of business application.

As noted, filter logic rules are employed in facilitating management ofdata communication. FIG. 3 depicts one example of a process for managingdata communication, in accordance with one or more aspects of thepresent invention. In one example, this process is performed by way of asoftware module executing on a processor, such as a processor of a hostcomputer system. The process begins by the software module opening thehost physical interface (302). In one example, software module comprisesa driver that opens and ‘owns’ the physical interface. Next, multiplevirtual interfaces are exposed to the host operating system (304). Asdescribed above, some physical interfaces, such as RS232 interfacesupports only one interface to be exposed over the physical connection(cable) between the host computer and the peripheral device. Themultiple virtual interfaces become the interfaces through which multipleapplications may communicate across the (single) physical interface witha peripheral device connected to the host computer system. After thehost applications are configured to use the appropriate virtualinterface (described below), management of data communication betweenthe peripheral device and host applications (306) is enabled, and theprocess ends.

Management of data communication between a peripheral device and hostapplications is described and depicted in further detail with referenceto FIG. 4, depicting an example process thereof, in accordance with oneor more aspects of the present invention. The process begins with theidentification of one or more appropriate applications to which receiveddata is to be communicated (402). In one example, this is initiatedresponsive to receipt by the software module of data from the peripheraldevice. In one example, the identification is facilitated by examiningthe data, such as a packet header of a data packet, to determine (basedon the filter logic rules) one or more appropriate applications to whichthe data is to be filtered/routed. It should be noted that it may bedesirable to provide some data (e.g. barcode data, image data, deviceoperation statistics) to more than one application. Next, the processidentifies one or more appropriate virtual interfaces through which thereceived data is to be provided (404). In accordance with an aspect ofthe present invention, each virtual interface will exist to service datacommunication with a different type of application, and each applicationto which the peripheral device sends data will be configured to use thevirtual interface of the multiple exposed virtual interfaces which isdedicated exclusively to servicing data communication with that typeapplication. The software module can be aware of which virtual interfaceservices which type of application of the multiple applications. Thus,in the example in which a line of business application and a managementapplication execute on a host computer system, a first virtual interfaceof the virtual interfaces will be dedicated to the line of businessapplication, and a second virtual interface of the virtual interfaceswill be dedicated to the management application. Identification of theone or more appropriate virtual interfaces through which the data is tobe provided to the appropriate applications (404) is based on theidentified application(s) that are to receive the data communication—forinstance, if the examination of the data and comparison to the filterlogic rules indicates that the data is to be provided only to the lineof business application, then the appropriate virtual interface (i.e.that dedicated to the line of business application) is identified.Following this, the data is provided to the appropriate application(s)through the appropriate interface(s) (406).

In conjunction with the logic of the software module, the peripheraldevice identifies the type of data that it is sending to the host. Inone example, data is ‘wrapped’ in one or more packets having a formatrecognizable by the software module. This format can be the formatdescribed in one or more filter logic rules on the host computer, tofacilitate identification by the host of the proper applicationexecuting thereon to which the data is to be provided. For instance, theperipheral device can identify that data being sent to the host is dataintended for the line of business application. Identification of thetype of data wrapped in a packet and/or the application to which thedata is intended can be provided through one or more indicators (e.g.bits) in the data packet, and, in one example, in a header of the datapacket. In the context of FIG. 2, such identification enables theperipheral device to send unsolicited notifications, such as decodingstatistics and diagnostics events, to a management application, whichunsolicited notifications are not intended for the line of businessapplication.

Advantageously, aspects of the present invention can enable themanagement of data communications as described above without the need tomodify and/or recompile the applications executing on the host. Instead,the applications need only be configured to use the appropriate virtualinterface dedicated to data communication for that particularapplication, rather than to use the physical interface. In manyinstances, the appropriate interface for the application to use isprovided by a single configuration setting in the application whichenables the selection of an interface from a list of interfacespresented by the operating system to the application. The singleconfiguration setting would be simply to point the application to theappropriate virtual interface rather than the physical interface.

Aspects of the present invention can be applied to any type of interfaceused by a peripheral device. The software module in the host can simplyvirtualize the original physical interface and expose two (or more) newvirtual interfaces as described above. Thus, aspects of the presentinvention are applicable for Universal Serial Bus physical interfaces,as well as many other physical interfaces as will be appreciated bythose having ordinary skill in the art.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method, or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readablestorage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example,but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, or semiconductorsystem, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of thecomputer readable storage medium include the following: an electricalconnection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, ahard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), anoptical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), anoptical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitablecombination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, acomputer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that cancontain or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Referring now to FIG. 5, in one example, a computer program product 500includes, for instance, one or more computer readable media 502 to storecomputer readable program code means or logic 504 thereon to provide andfacilitate one or more aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Further, a data processing system suitable for storing and/or executingprogram code is usable that includes at least one processor coupleddirectly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus. Thememory elements include, for instance, local memory employed duringactual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memorywhich provide temporary storage of at least some program code in orderto reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storageduring execution.

Input/Output or I/O devices (including, but not limited to, keyboards,displays, pointing devices, DASD, tape, CDs, DVDs, thumb drives andother memory media, etc.) can be coupled to the system either directlyor through intervening I/O controllers. Network adapters may also becoupled to the system to enable the data processing system to becomecoupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storagedevices through intervening private or public networks. Modems, cablemodems, and Ethernet cards are just a few of the available types ofnetwork adapters.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising”, when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below, if any, areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description of the present invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

A small sample of methods that are described herein is as follows:

-   A1. A method of managing data communication, the method comprising:    opening and controlling, by a processor, a physical interface of a    host computer system, the physical interface for communicating data    between a peripheral device and a plurality of applications    executing on the host computer system, the plurality of applications    comprising a first application and a second application; exposing,    in the host computer system, a first virtual interface and a second    virtual interface to an operating system of the host computer    system, wherein the operating system exposes the first virtual    interface and the second virtual interface to the first application    and the second application, the first virtual interface for    communicating data between the peripheral device and the first    application through the physical interface, and the second virtual    interface for communicating data between the peripheral device and    the second application through the physical interface; and managing    data communication between the peripheral device and the first    application, and between the peripheral device and the second    application.-   A2. The method of A1, wherein the peripheral device comprises an    encoded information reading terminal comprising an encoded    information reading device configured to output a decoded message,    wherein the first application comprises a line of business    application for receiving the decoded message from the encoded    information reading terminal, and wherein the second application    comprises a management application for managing the encoded    information reading terminal.-   A3. The method of A1, wherein the managing data communication    between the peripheral device and the first application and between    the peripheral device and the second application comprises filtering    data received from the peripheral device through the physical    interface to the first application and the second application, the    filtering comprising: identifying one or more appropriate    applications of the first application and the second application to    which the received data is to be provided; identifying one or more    appropriate virtual interfaces of the first virtual interface and    the second virtual interface through which the received data is to    be provided; and providing the received data through the appropriate    one or more virtual interfaces to the appropriate one or more    applications, wherein received data is provided to the first    application through the first virtual interface and wherein received    data is provided to the second application through the second    virtual interface.-   A4. The method of A3, wherein one or more filter logic rules define    one or more rules for filtering received data to one or more    appropriate applications of the first application and the second    application.-   A5. The method of A4, wherein the one or more filter logic rules    describe a format of incoming data from the peripheral device to    distinguish between data intended for different applications of the    first application and the second application.-   A6. The method of A5, wherein the received data is provided by the    peripheral device through the physical interface in the described    format to facilitate identifying the one or more appropriate    applications to which the received data is to be provided, and    wherein the identifying identifies the one or more appropriate    applications based on the description of the format provided by the    one or more filter logic rules.-   A7. The method of A4, wherein the first application comprises a line    of business application, wherein the second application comprises a    management application, wherein a filter logic rule of the one or    more filter logic rules defines how a peripheral device reboot event    is to be handled to shield the line of business application from the    reboot event in order to facilitate preservation of a connection    handle of the line of business application to the peripheral device,    and wherein another filter logic rule of the one or more filter    logic rules identifies how to freeze data communication to or from    the line of business application during performance of peripheral    device management by the management application.-   A8. The method of A4, wherein the received data comprises    simultaneous requests for the first application and for the second    application, and wherein at least one filter logic rule of the one    or more filter logic rules identifies how the host computer system    is to handle the simultaneous requests.-   A9. The method of A3, wherein the filtering is performed by a filter    driver of the operating system, and wherein one or more filter logic    rules are maintained in a filter logic rules file external to the    filter driver to facilitate updating the filter logic rules    separately from the filter driver absent a need to recompile the    filter driver upon updating the filter logic rules.-   A10. The method of A9, wherein the filter driver supports    configuration requests to change behavior of the filter driver in    performing the filtering.-   A11. The method of A9, wherein the filter driver comprises a    kernel-level driver of a kernel of the operating system, the    kernel-level driver for exposing the first virtual interface and the    second virtual interface to the operations system.-   A12. The method of A1, wherein a driver of the operating system    opens and owns the physical interface and exposes the first virtual    interface and the second virtual interface to the operating system,    and wherein the first application is configured to utilize the first    virtual interface for data communication with the peripheral device,    and wherein the second application is configured to utilize the    second virtual interface for data communication with the peripheral    device.-   A13. The method of A1, wherein the physical interface comprises an    RS232 interface supporting only a single interface connection    between the RS232 interface and the peripheral device.-   A14. The method of A1, wherein the peripheral device comprises an    encoded information reading device configured to output a decoded    message, wherein data communicated between the peripheral device and    the host computer system comprises the decoded message and wherein    the decoded message is communicated to a line of business    application of the multiple applications executing on the host    computer system.

While the present invention has been described with reference to anumber of specific embodiments, it will be understood that the truespirit and scope of the invention should be determined only with respectto claims that can be supported by the present specification. Further,while in numerous cases herein wherein systems and apparatuses andmethods are described as having a certain number of elements it will beunderstood that such systems, apparatuses and methods can be practicedwith fewer than or greater than the mentioned certain number ofelements. Also, while a number of particular embodiments have beendescribed, it will be understood that features and aspects that havebeen described with reference to each particular embodiment can be usedwith each remaining particularly described embodiment.

1. A method, comprising: opening and controlling, with a processor, aphysical interface communicating with at least one device andapplications, the applications comprising a first application and asecond application; exposing, with the processor, a first virtualinterface to an operating system and the first application, wherein thefirst virtual interface handles communication between the at least onedevice and the first application via the physical interface; exposing,with the processor, a second virtual interface to the operating systemand the second application, wherein the second virtual interface handlescommunication between the at least one device and the second applicationvia the physical interface; and managing, with the processor,communication (i) between the at least one device and the firstapplication and (ii) between the at least one device and the secondapplication.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the at least one deviceoutputs a decoded message; the first application comprises a line ofbusiness application for receiving the decoded message from the at leastone device; and the second application comprises a managementapplication for managing the at least one device.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein managing, with the processor, communication comprises:receiving data from the at least one device through the physicalinterface; identifying one or more applications to which the receiveddata should be provided; identifying one or more virtual interfacesthrough which the received data should be provided; and providing thereceived data through the identified one or more virtual interfaces tothe identified one or more applications.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein identifying one or more applications to which the received datashould be provided comprises identifying one or more applications basedon one or more filter logic rules.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein:the first application comprises a line of business application; thesecond application comprises a management application; a filter logicrule of the one or more filter logic rules defines how a device rebootevent is to be handled to shield the line of business application fromthe reboot event in order to facilitate preservation of a connectionhandle of the line of business application to the at least one device;and another filter logic rule of the one or more filter logic rulesidentifies how to freeze communication to or from the line of businessapplication during performance of device management by the managementapplication.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein; the received datacomprises simultaneous requests for the first application and for thesecond application; and at least one filter logic rule of the one ormore filter logic rules identifies how a host computer system is tohandle the simultaneous requests.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinmanaging, with the processor, data communication comprises: receivingdata from the at least one device through the physical interface;identifying, with a filter driver on the operating system, one or moreapplications to which the received data should be provided; identifying,with the filter driver, one or more virtual interfaces through which thereceived data should be provided; and providing, with the filter driver,the received data through the identified one or more virtual interfacesto the identified one or more applications; wherein one or more filterlogic rules applied by the filter drive are stored external to thefilter drive.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein: a driver of theoperating system opens and owns the physical interface and exposes thefirst virtual interface and the second virtual interface to theoperating system; the first application is configured to utilize thefirst virtual interface for data communication with the at least onedevice; and the second application is configured to utilize the secondvirtual interface for data communication with the at least one device.9. A method, comprising: opening and controlling, with a processor, aphysical interface communicating with at least one peripheral device andapplications, the applications comprising a first application and asecond application; exposing, with the processor, a first virtualinterface to an operating system and the first application, wherein thefirst virtual interface handles communication between the at least oneperipheral device and the first application via the physical interface;exposing, with the processor, a second virtual interface to theoperating system and the second application, wherein the second virtualinterface handles communication between the at least one peripheraldevice and the second application via the physical interface; andmanaging, with the processor, communication (i) between the at least oneperipheral device and the first application and (ii) between the atleast one peripheral device and the second application.
 10. The methodof claim 9, wherein: the at least one peripheral device comprises anencoded information reading device configured to output a decodedmessage; the first application comprises a line of business applicationfor receiving the decoded message from the encoded information readingdevice; and the second application comprises a management applicationfor managing the encoded information reading device.
 11. The method ofclaim 9, wherein managing, with the processor, data communicationcomprises: receiving data from the at least one peripheral devicethrough the physical interface; identifying one or more applications towhich the received data should be provided; identifying one or morevirtual interfaces through which the received data should be provided;and providing the received data through the identified one or morevirtual interfaces to the identified one or more applications.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein identifying one or more applications towhich the received data should be provided comprises identifying one ormore applications based on one or more filter logic rules.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the one or more filter logic rules describea format of incoming data from the at least one peripheral device todistinguish between data intended for different applications of thefirst application and the second application.
 14. The method of claim 9,wherein managing, with the processor, data communication comprises:receiving data from the at least one peripheral device through thephysical interface; identifying one or more applications to which thereceived data should be provided; identifying one or more virtualinterfaces through which the received data should be provided; andproviding the received data through the identified one or more virtualinterfaces to the identified one or more applications.
 15. The method ofclaim 9, wherein; the at least one peripheral device comprises anencoded information reading device configured to output a decodedmessage; data communicated between the at least one peripheral deviceand a host computer system comprises the decoded message; and thedecoded message is communicated to a line of business application of theapplications executing on the host computer system.
 16. A system,comprising: an operating system; a first application; a secondapplication; a physical interface communicating with at least onedevice, the device configured to read encoded information; a firstvirtual interface to handle communication between the at least onedevice and the first application via the physical interface; and asecond virtual interface to handle communication between the at leastone device and the second application via the physical interface; and aprocessor for: opening and controlling the physical interface; exposingthe first virtual interface to the operating system and the firstapplication; exposing the second virtual interface to the operatingsystem and the second application; managing the communication betweenthe at least one device and the first application; and managing thecommunication between the at least one device and the secondapplication.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein: the at least onedevice outputs a decoded message; the first application comprises a lineof business application for receiving the decoded message from the atleast one device; and the second application comprises a managementapplication for managing the at least one device.
 18. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the processor: receives data from the at least onedevice through the physical interface; identifies one or moreapplications to which the received data should be provided; identifiesone or more virtual interfaces through which the received data should beprovided; and provides the received data through the identified one ormore virtual interfaces to the identified one or more applications. 19.The system of claim 18, wherein the processor identifies one or moreapplications to which the received data should be provided based on oneor more filter logic rules.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the oneor more filter logic rules describe a format of incoming data from theat least one device to distinguish between data intended for differentapplications of the first application and the second application.